Monday, October 26, 2009

Understanding the Generational Gap Part 7

The following is part of a series on generations and what I have learned about them.

The church is made up of all the generation I have discussed last week. The church is a unique organization in that it has the mission of reaching all people. Most companies are designed to reach specific parts of the population. Matchbox Cars are designed to reach young boys, while makeup is targeted to women. However, the church has the commission to reach all people.

That is why we have many churches. Each church must decide who they are going to seek to reach. When I lived in Chesapeake there was a church near by that I would have absolutely no desire attending. They have worship that is just not for me. Some of their methods are not for me. But, I love what they are doing because they are reaching people for Jesus Christ. They are reaching people that the church I served in that area was never going to reach. However, we were reaching people that they were never going to reach.

In his book The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren talks about how they came up with Saddleback Sam. Saddleback Sam is the ideal person that Saddleback Church is targeting. They pick who they are going to go after and that is who they reach out to. Friends, I believe we must do that same thing. We must work together as the larger body of Christ brining people into a relationship with Christ with our own unique churches reaching our own unique culture.

Our culture is made up of many different people, from many different generations. Some have grown up in the church, others haven’t. Some you can label with a generation, others you cannot. Some fit their generation, others do not. The information I have passed on through this blog is generalizations, nothing concrete, but some basic guidelines to work with as we seek to grow Christ Church. Learning how to work with the different generations, different cultures, and different personalities, and at the same time defining who our target group is, will help as we seek to bring life to lost people.

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